It seems to be extremely popular among a certain sort of amateur evolutionary theorist, though—there’s a certain sort of person who, if they don’t know about the incredible mathematical difficulty, will find it very satisfying to speculate about adaptations for the good of the group.
That’s me. I don’t know anything about evolutionary biology—I’m not even an amateur. Group selection sounded quite reasonable to me, and now I know that it isn’t borne by observation or the math. I can’t jump into evolutionary arguments; moratorium accepted.
“As a result many are beginning to recognize that group selection, or more appropriately multilevel selection, is potentially an important force in evolution.”
That’s me. I don’t know anything about evolutionary biology—I’m not even an amateur. Group selection sounded quite reasonable to me, and now I know that it isn’t borne by observation or the math. I can’t jump into evolutionary arguments; moratorium accepted.
See:
“As a result many are beginning to recognize that group selection, or more appropriately multilevel selection, is potentially an important force in evolution.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Group_selection